Rex Orange County charged with sexual assult

USD students discuss the allegations and Rex’s impact on Generation Z

STELLA SCHNEIDER / CONTRIBUTOR / THE USD VISTA

ABIGAIL CAVIZO / NEWS EDITOR / THE USD VISTA

24-year-old Alexander O’Connor, commonly known as the singer/songwriter Rex Orange County, has been charged with six counts of sexual assault. Since the break in his career, he has amassed 21 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Due to his previously ‘unproblematic nature’ and ‘unthreatening persona,’ these sexual assault allegations have shocked both fans and casual listeners of his music alike. 

According to the Southwark Crown Court, O’Connor allegedly assaulted the unidentified woman twice in the West End neighborhood of London: once while riding in a taxi and three times at his home in the Notting Hill neighborhood of London, on June 1 and 2 of 2021. The age of consent in the United Kingdom is 16 years old. The woman is stated to be over the age of 16.

In July 2022, O’Connor coincidentally canceled the remainder of his tour. In a post on his social media, he credited the cancellation to “unforeseen personal circumstances.”

On Oct. 10, he denied the assault allegations after appearing at London’s Southwark Crown Court. The musician was released on unconditional bail, meaning O’Connor has a clean criminal record and isn’t considered a flight risk by the court, after pleading not guilty to all six allegations. A preliminary trial is scheduled for Jan. 3, 2023.

O’Connor originally started his career at 17 years old by releasing his debut record, “Bcos U Will Never B Free” on SoundCloud. Due to starting at such a young age, a lot of Generation Z associates their developmental years as teenagers with O’Connor’s emotional relatability. 

USD senior Ely Redoble cited Rex Orange County as her No. 1 artist on Spotify. She explained her insight into why O’Connor may impact Generation Z more than other alleged assaults.

“I think that he has impacted our generation through introducing his genre of music to a new group of listeners, and that the alternative/indie genre isn’t as well-listened to as pop music and when people discovered it through his music they wanted more,” Redoble said. “I think it’s more surprising that a person like Rex participated in the act, especially since he doesn’t fit the category of ‘statistically stereotypical people’ that would. It’s more informative, even if you think he wouldn’t do it, there are people with ‘his aesthetics’ that could.”

O’Connor unofficially stepped into the spotlight in 2017 when he was featured on Tyler the Creator’s “Flower Boy”’ album, playing into popular culture’s aesthetic of the ‘soft loverboy.’ This refers to male-identifying people embracing traits that are typically labeled as feminine, such as the way one dresses or a soft-spoken voice. Typically, people would not see this persona as a threat, further echoing the surprise that many experienced when the news of the alleged assault reached the internet.

USD junior Jack Anthony mentioned his own phases of listening to Rex Orange County since high school and his perceived reality that comes with discussing the current situation. 

“I feel like this thing happens with an artist, it’s a big deal for a while but then it blows over with people still listening to them. Obviously it sucks, but if you keep releasing music, it kinda goes away,” Anthony said.

The arrival of these allegations bring forth the common argument among many listeners — separating the music from the artist — which many have analyzed for quite some time. 

USD junior Sage Grove expressed her feelings on the debate about separating the art from the artist. 

“I think people should care about the creations more than the author. I absolutely think you can generally separate the music from the artist,” Grove said. “[However,] I would not listen to the music [of someone with allegations], because I wouldn’t want to support their artistic work or income further.”

 Considering the popularity of this debate, there have been some well-received claims. Some argue that engaging critically with a work of art is completely different from endorsing the morality of the artist. 

This argument insinuates that one can always separate the art and the intentions behind the work. Some believe that people don’t necessarily need to know why the artist made their art to understand the piece. Yet for O’Connor, there is a possibility that he may lose many followers in the coming months. 

“My morals matter when I support people and artists, and I wouldn’t listen to more of his music, because he doesn’t deserve my support or the royalties from playing his music,” Grove said.

With the looming preliminary trial in January, many listeners and non-listeners wonder if people will continue to stream O’Connor’s music. There could be a surge of people who stop listening, for fear of indirectly supporting O’Connor.

An instance of fans who stopped listening occurred in August 2021, when R. Kelly was on trial and he was ultimately convicted after years of allegations regarding his inappropriate behavior with women and minors. At the beginning of that August, Kelly’s Spotify artist page had approximately 5.2 million Spotify listeners; after the conviction, there was a rapid decline by roughly 330,000 listeners by the end of the month.

This activity is extremely common when it comes to this sort of circumstance in the music industry. 

“Generally, I think a lot of people will continue to listen to [Rex’s] music,” Anthony said. “Cancel culture gets someone new every month, but… if you make a good song, you’ll get your listeners back.”

The public details of the case are vague, but O’Connor’s music is likely to be received and listened to in a variety of ways. These allegations shocked many students and fans, raising important questions related to O’Connor’s music, the impact certain artists have generationally and art in general.